Photographer Kathleen Velo said she had long been troubled by the quality of the water she had flowing from the tap at her home in Tucson, Ariz. A few years ago she began a project that sought to compare the quality of the ground water to that transported to Arizona's major population centers via a diversion canal known as the Central Arizona Project.

That comparison, in turn, got her thinking about the entire 1,450-mile Colorado River from which that water came.

"I decided I wanted to see what that water looked like, and if it was different from the water in the canals," she said. "Then I came up with the idea of making color photograms under the surface of the water to see what it looked like from that perspective."

Those photos, which create a richly beautiful, yet darkly troubling abstracted view of this vital western water source, are now the centerpiece of a show titled "Water Flow: Under the Colorado River," that is now on display at the Longmont Museum through May 26.

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To get started on the project, Velo first had to invent her own process that would allow her to make photograms (photos of objects on the surface of light-sensitive material, such as photographic paper, and then exposing the print to light) under water.

"I had to experiment with different ways of putting paper under water at night because the paper has to be handled in total darkness," she said. "I just tried it out in a little swimming pool and tubs of water at night and had to experiment with different filters and such to get it right."

This map of the Colorado River shows the 14 sites were photographer Kathleen Velo created images for "Water Flow: Under the Colorado River" at the Longmont Museum. (Cliff Grassmick / Staff Photographer)

Once she mastered that process, Velo began making trips to photograph the river at various points along it.

"I would go into the river late at night when it was totally dark and then my partner would be on shore with a strobe flash," she said. "And after I would get the paper situated under water at the right moment he would pop the flash and the burst of light would go through the water and it would capture an image of the water and whatever was in it and affecting its color."

That process came with its fair share of challenges, Velo said.

"You would have to research each location to make sure it was on public land and there was access and it was safe," she said. "Sometimes getting there meant hiking about half a mile carrying 40 pounds of equipment, so that part was challenging."

Kathy Oliver, left, and Mary Rushing, look at the images and how they were made. "Water Flow: Under the Colorado River," created by photographer, Kathleen Velo, is a new exhibit at the Longmont Museum. (Cliff Grassmick / Staff Photographer)

Accompanying the photos are water samples that Velo had tested for various pollutants, allowing visitors to track the quality of the water at the various points she visited along her journey.

"I hope that people will look at these photos and really think about how we use the water in the river," she said. "I just think raising awareness is the key. Science can tell us a lot but art can help as well."

Erik Mason, Longmont Museum curator of history, said Velo's show was paired alongside the "Ansel Adams: Early Works" exhibit at the museum because he said that museum staff thought it would be interesting for visitors to consider the two environmentally-conscious landscape photographers together.

"It's an interesting dialogue between Ansel Adams' black-and-white work and then this more abstract color photography work," Mason said.

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